Folding crate.



A. J. PARMETER.

' FOLDING CRATE. APPLIUATION FILED JULY 29, 1909. @WJWQ Pmmm may .10,m0.

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FOLDING CRATE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 29, 1909.

Patented. May 10, 1910.

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FOLDING CRATE.

; and l do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description pf the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which" it appertains to make and use thesame. j

My invention relates t'o*'egg crates and partlcularly to that type whichare adapted to be folded or collapsed for purposes of return shipment.

The object of the invention is the provi- .sion of a device of thischaracter which may be conveniently and readily operated so that afterthe contents have been removed, the crate may be folded into compactform for return shipment. It may be as easily'and readily set up when itis desired to' fill the same. p

A still further object of the invention is the provision of meanswhereby a single locking lever may be utilized to hold the device inlocked distended position and in locked collapsed position.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel hinge forjoining the sides and ends of thccrate so that it may be readily foldedand for connecting the bottom plates with one of the side members.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, combination and arrangements of parts aswill be more fully pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the box indistendedposition; Fig. 2 is a central transverse sectionshowing the topclosed; Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional View taken through the centerof the device; Fig. 4t is a top plan View of the device in collapsedposition; Fig. 5 is atop plan view of the device collapsed in the opposite direction; Fig. (3 is a bottom plan View of the devicev collapsedas shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail sectional View of oneof the hinges; and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the lockinglever.

Referring more especially to the drawings, 1 represents the body of acrate which comprises back and front members 2 and 3, respectively,hingedly connected to the end Specification of Letters Patent. Patented1" ay 10., Application filed July 29, 1909. Serial No. 510,169. 2

members 4. In the preferredform of hinge, I roll the metal of the frontand back members at each end of said members so as to fprm a tubularpintle socket 5 in which the pintles (3, formed on the ends of themembers aremounted. 'lhese pintles are formed in a similar manner andare prevented from movement longitudinally in the pintle sockets, bylugs'or clips 7, which are bent over at the top and bottom of thetubular'channel forming portions in order to close their ends. The endmembers are provided with suitable bail handles S,by which the crate maybe readily transported from placeto place. The lower portion of the rearside is curled up in a manner similar to the ends thereof to form apintle socket 8, in which the pintles 9 and 10, of the bottom members 11and 12, respectively, are adapted to engage. The ends of this curled 'orrolled channel portion are not turned over as the end members havesullicient overhang as shown in Fig. 2 to prevent any movement of thepintles longitudinally of the channel.

The forward ends of .the bottom members 11 and 12, are provided withdownwardly projecting flanges 13, to engage channels 14:, formed by theupturned flange 15, of the front side 3. When these members are in placewith their flanges engaging the flange 15, the s 'n'eading of the sidememberswill be prevented. In order to further insure the device againstspreading and to divide the crate int-o compartments, 1 secure hingemembers 16, to the front and back sides therein in which there arejournalcd pintles 17, to which is connected a transverse partition 18,which has its lower end raised between the bottom members 11 and 12. Thetop. portion of the backside is provided with lugs 1.) and 20, which arecurled over to clamp a hinge pintle 21 therebetween upon which ismounted the top 22. The lugs 19 and 20, are arranged on either side ofslots 23, which are adapted to permit the passage of the hooks 24,carried upon the rear side of the cover or top 22, the purpose of whichwill be explained hereinafter.

Journaled in, the cars 25,. upon the front face of the side memberB, isa locking lever 26, which comprises hooked ends 27, adapted to engagethe links 28, carried upon the cover so as to lock the cover in'closedposition. The intermediate portion of this lever extends downwardlyalontr the "face of jthe 1 side 3, where it straddles the projecting lug29, which is apertured at 30, so as to receive a locking' seal 31.

\Vhen the crate is folded as shown in Fig. 4 or 5, one of the links 32,which are secured to the upper portion of the front side plate 3, isengaged with one of the hooks 24, so as to pull the front portion backtoward the back plate. The hooked ends of the lever 26 are-extendedeccentrically to the line of the bearings so that when the lever isturned in one direction, the hooked ends will be considerably below thebearings and, when the lever is turned in the opposite direction, thehooked ends are sub-- stantially in alinement with the bearings.Connected to these extended ends are chains 3%, whiclnhave hooks 35,arranged upon their .ends, one of which is adapted to engage one of thelinks'28, so as to lock the bottom of the crate in closed'position asshown in Fig. 6. The opposite link is folded down on the top of thecover and the remaining hook 35, is carried over the lower edge of theside 3. The lever is then thrown so as to carry the extensions backparallel with the lever and the seal is then placed? in position so astolock the device in position for shipment.

It will be seen that the structure is substantially flat When foldedvand that it may be readilychanged from. one position to the other sothat little time is lost in fixing the case up'for packing or for returnshipment.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the inventionwill be readily understood with" out requiring a more extendedexplanation. Various changes in the form, proportion and the minordetails of construction may be-resorted to without departing from theprinciple orsacrificing. any of the advantages of this invention asdefined in the appended claims.

l-Iaving .thus described my invention, what. I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with hinged sideand end members, of a top hinged to one of the side mein- I bers,pivoted links on the oppositeside member and hooks carried upon theunderside of the top adjacent its connection with the side and adaptedto engage said links to hold the opposite side member collapsed withrespect to the first. side member on which the door is mounted.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with hinged sideand end members, of a top hinged to one of the side members, linkscarried by the opposite side member, hooks carried on the undersideofthe top adjacent the hinge connection and adapted to engage the links tohold the,

members collapsed, and means carried by the opposite side member forengaging the top to hold it in collapsed position.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with side and endmembers, of

a partition permanently hinged. to the side 7o members, separate bottommembers hinged to one of the side members and adapted to fold upalongside of said side men'iher, a door hinged to one side member, linkscarried by the oppo'site side member, hooks car- 7:.

ried by the door adjacent the hing-ed connection thereof and adapted toengage the links, to hold the parts COllRPSQKl llIlkS .car-

ried by the door, and flexible means carried by the opposite side memberfor engaging so bers, independently hinged bottom members .85

connected to one of the side mei'nbers, a tophinged to one of the sidemembers, links carried by the top, means carried by the opposite sidemember for engaging the links to hold the top in closed position whenthe crate is distended, and chains carried by said means for engagingthe links to hold the top in locked position with the parts col lapsed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing wit nesses.

ADDISOB J. PARli'IE'lER. Witnesses:

M. E. lni'criN, E. C. LEWIS.

